This discovery relates to a new and distinct cultivar of regal Pelargonium (Pelargonium×domesticum) identified by the name of ‘Elegance Silver’, Breeder No. 99-128-01 and Oglevee, Ltd. No. 629. The cultivar was discovered in an organized, scientifically designed breeding program conducted at the Department of Horticulture, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. The purpose of the breeding program was to create new regal Pelargonium genotypes with clear, bright flower colors, excellent propagation characteristics, compact growth habit, predictable and consistent flowering response and excellent postharvest quality. The new cultivar is compact, self-branching (without pinching) and early flowering. The flowers are white with a slight purple feather. The most outstanding trait of this new cultivar is its extended floral longevity.
The pistillate parent (Breeder No. 95-9-4) is a cross-pollination of ‘Duchess’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,074) and Breeder No. 93-11-5 produced according to the pedigree appearing in FIG. 2. The staminate parent (Breeder No. 95-10-3) was developed from prior selections at The Pennsylvania State University since 1977 according to the pedigree appearing in FIG. 3. In the pedigrees of FIGS. 2 and 3, the first two digits refer to the year that the entry originated.
Two seeds of this hybrid were sown on Mar. 31, 1999 and were identified as Breeder No. 99-128. One of the seeds germinated and the seedling (Breeder No. 99-128-1) was grown to maturity and produced its first inflorescence on Aug. 28, 1999. This seedling was judged to be pollen fertile, have attractive flowers and to display limited flower production.
This seedling was cultivated to produce a stock plant for harvesting asexual propagules. The selection was asexually propagated by cuttings on Oct. 14-15, 1999 at University Park, Pa. These cuttings were placed into a mist facility and one cutting produced roots. This cutting was floral initiated and grown to maturity. Initial data were recorded on Feb. 25, 2000. The plant was judged to have very good foliage, small height, good branching, very good flowering, and overall was judged very good. Three similar trials were evaluated in the spring (greenhouse) and summer (garden) of 2000. All of the reproductions ran true. Subsequent evaluations were conducted in the greenhouse (five times annually) and garden (annually) in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The new cultivar was trial and field tested in Connellsville, Pa. and was found to retain its characteristics through successive asexual generations.
The description of the new cultivar that is presented below was developed from plants grown in a glass greenhouse in Connellsville, Pa. Rooted cuttings were potted into 5″ or 6″ plastic Azalea pots containing a 80% peat and 20% Perlite medium with a pH of 6.0-6.8. The plants were grown for two weeks to establish a vigorous root system. Environmental conditions were 62-64° F. at night and ventilation in the day when temperatures reached 70° F. A soluble fertilizer delivering 150 ppm of nitrogen and potassium was used at each irrigation. At the end of two weeks, the plants were moved to a floral initiation environment for four weeks that was maintained at 54° F. The area included supplemental irradiance of 560 footcandles (fc) of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting accomplished with high pressure sodium lamps from 700 to 2300 hours daily (16 hours). The lamps were not used when natural irradiance was above 660 fc at plant level. In addition long photoperiods were established with the application of 40 fc of incandescent lamps for 16 hours daily; lamps were on for 15 minutes and off for 45 minutes each hour. Plants were subjected to water stress during this time. At the end of four weeks the plants were moved to a forcing environment that was maintained at 60° F. at night and ventilated in the day when temperatures reached 67° F. Supplemental irradiance was applied at 200 fc HID, as described above, from 700-2300 hours. No chemical growth regulators were applied.